Wales' Six Nations clash with England is potentially in doubt after the news that players are set to consider taking strike action.
A meeting, which was originally scheduled for today (Wednesday), will be held between Welsh Rugby Players' Association representatives and players over the next week or so, with everything on the table for some players, including potential strike action.
It comes at a worrying time for players. With the Welsh Rugby Union and four regions yet to sign off on a new funding deal that would lift the contract freeze, players are left in limbo over their future and are unable to put pen to paper on new contracts.
Following on from the distressing accounts in the Daily Mail which saw one current Wales international speak of taking antidepressants due to the uncertainty, WalesOnline understand that some in the national set-up have been left questioning whether it is still worth playing for Wales anymore.
Others have admitted they simply have no trust in the WRU anymore.
The situation is dire, which is why the possibility of strike action has been raised. And the prospect of striking ahead of the biggest game in Wales' calendar is perhaps the best attempt at affecting the changes wanted by the players.
Last year, the WRU recorded a turnover of £94.3million - with around 72% of that coming from staging international matches featuring senior Welsh teams at the Principality Stadium and the commercial opportunities that come with that. Crucially, in the last calendar year, Wales played one more home fixture than they will this year, while the World Cup later in the year robs them of autumn internationals in 2023.
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Naturally, given this whole debate revolves around finances, hitting the WRU where it hurts hardest would make sense. But how much could the union stand to lose were the England game not to go ahead on February 25?
Exact figures are difficult to predict, obviously. However, we have seen a fixture postponed in recent years, with the Scotland match in March 2020 called off at the last minute due to the Covid-19 pandemic. In their annual report, the WRU revealed it had cost them around £8.1m in losing that fixture. A similar figure, if not slightly higher, would be expected for this year's England clash, with 2022's match income largely in line with what it was in 2019 and 2018.
However, ticket prices for the England match in 2023 are higher than what was on offer for Scotland three years ago. Back then, the tickets prices were £40, £65, £90, £95 and £105. Now, for this year's England clash, tickets still start at £40 before jumping up to £90, £115, £120 and £130. There's also the increased broadcast deal, with BBC and ITV signing a new deal which reportedly brought the revenue up from £90m per year to around £155m per year.
As such, it's more than reasonable to assume that the England match this year would be more lucrative than the Scotland match three years ago.
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